Emergence of the Care workforce in India: An interrogation of the contemporary labour market conditions

Abstract

Care work, often defined by scholars as work that involves social reproduction, has been the focus of much academic research in recent years. Healthcare, child care, care for the elderly and scores of other work that directly or indirectly contribute towards the development of human capital, have led to the emergence of considerable scholarship in the social sciences. Some have focussed on gender, others on the welfare state, yet others on labour. Academic debates on care have impact, whether mediated or directly on policy formulation. The labour market for care workers is globally dominated by women. The prevalence of women in paid care work is shaped by both historical and cultural factors. In more recent times, with new economic measures, care services have been particularly susceptible to market pressures such as low wages and poor social protection. The objective of my paper is to showcase the existing conditions of labour in the market for paid care work in India. This paper outlines the significant historical processes that have led to the creation of the market for paid care work as it exists today. This paper will further examine the role played by the State in determining the observed conditions.